Anyone who uses Progeny Press lit. guides

[extrafor6]

How do you use them? Does the child read the book first and then do a page each day? I read that you should only do two guides a year. I'm looking to switch from DITHOR which has the child reading around 7 books per year. I know I would have to add in more books than the two they use the guide for...so how does this work?

Thanks!!

[kiwi mum]

Here is the blurb from their website:

"Most middle grades and high school study guides take from eight to ten weeks to complete, generally working on one section per week. Over the years, we have found that it works best if the students completely read the novel the first week, while also working on a prereading activity chosen by the parent or teacher. Starting the second week, most parents and teachers have found it works best to work on one study guide page per day until the chapter sections are completed; this generally takes between eight and ten weeks."

That would suggest that you would do 4 guides per year. We have used some of their guides but use other things as well and would be more likely do do way more than 4 guides per year.

[extrafor6]

Thanks for this info. I did read this on the website, but wasn't sure if it would be any different for upper elementary level. Thanks!

[Tidbits of Learning]

Progeny Press guides are really dull. My children used them in co-op. The co-op even stopped book club b/c so many kids hated these guides that year.

I would suggest moving to Suppose a Wolf were an Octopus if changing from DITHOR. It contains many different books, but you can pick and choose which ones you want to use and it uses Bloom's taxonomy. It also has less open-ended questions. They are questions pertaining to that particular book.

http://www.rfwp.com/series/suppose-the-wolf-were-an-octopus-guides-to-creative-questioning

I had a hard time with DITHOR b/c it was so open-ended. There were a lot of times that some of it just plain didn't apply to our book even though our book was that genre.

Anyway, this is what I am using instead.

[3browneyedboys4me]

We only have limited experience with the PP guides, but my son was not a fan. He used them in a co-op. For a boy, I think he thought it was exhaustive, 'busy' work answering the multitude of questions. But, I thought it was a great way to really keep them on track with their reading. I like that it taught them to really think about metaphors,similes,genres, and more. I just think that it was too in-depth for us. He dreaded doing the guides!

 

HTH

[lexi]

I've used a few of the guides for elementary. They did not take 8 weeks or whatever the site says. We could complete them in just a few weeks so we could have done many of them each year. I did like many of the questions and the way they added in character and Bible verses to their discussion. However, we used them only as a discussion guide and snuggled on the couch with the book and the guide. I didn't have my daughter do any writing; we just discussed the questions and used them as a jumping off point to talk about the book. So, my daughter enjoyed doing the guides but I do NOT think she would have enjoyed them if I had her write anything in the guide. I liked not having to think about the questions when I have other littles ones.

 

But I just looked up the Suppose the Wolf Were an Octopus and it looks like exactly what I have been looking for! Thanks for sharing about that!! I looked at DITHOR and it did seem too open-ended and I could not grasp how it would work. I wanted something specific because my daughter enjoys discussing her books and I felt like the questions I could think of off the top of my head were not very deep. This resource looks like it would be more cost-effective than ordering multiple PP guides.

[plansrme]

I have used a couple and think they move too slowly at the recommended pace. They really know how to drag out a book. Also, the guides for lower elementary are useless.

 

I do not use them any more because they charge shipping on the PDF files. The time it takes a vendor to e-mail me a PDF file that I have to print on my own paper and with my own ink, should be part of the vendor's cost of doing business. When I buy (bought) from them at a convention, I was not required to chip in for their gas, booth rental or lunch from the concession stand. I do not pay local family-owned businesses a quarter for the cashier's time. I find this practice so offensive that I will not use PP guides any more.

 

Terri